Rutgers tuition is going up, along with room and board

It will cost more to attend Rutgers University starting this year.

The Board of Governors agreed Monday to raise tuition by 6%, or by about $387 per semester for full-time in-state undergraduate students. Typical fees are estimated to increase by $100.

Living on campus will cost more as well. The board raised housing prices by 5% and the meal plan was increased by nearly 7%.

According to a release from the university, the increases reflect “general inflation, increases in salaries and wages, sharp increases in utilities and commodities, and unprecedented increases in the cost of employee benefits,” including health care and pension plans.

The increases come on the heels of new labor contracts with faculty and graduate assistants. It took the university’s first faculty strike and mediation from Gov. Phil Murphy to get a deal done. NJ Advance Media reported the new contracts will cost Rutgers nearly $184 million over four years.

Murphy said at the time he was “not a fan” of a deal that would result in higher tuition for students.

The Murphy administration and leaders in the state Legislature agreed to an additional $25 million of state aid in the budget that took effect July 1.

“This funding, along with other allocations schools may have also received in the budget, can be used to address a number of different operating costs,” said Christi Peace, a spokesperson for the governor. “Alongside the Administration’s own efforts, the Governor encourages institutions of higher education to continue working to make higher education more affordable and accessible to New Jersey students.”

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement that he was disappointed with the overall size of the tuition increase “given the record amount of state support for Rutgers.”

“Keeping Rutgers affordable, and tuition hikes reasonable, is far more appropriate for the students and families of our great state,” he said.